Things To Do When You Are Snowed In

Well, maybe all you folks out in the South aren’t covered with snow like Indiana is, but maybe you just are looking for some things to do to pass the time? Here is a compiled list of ideas to pass those long days at home…

1. Start paying your bills online. Signing up through CheckFree.com saves you time and stamps. I love getting their reminders to pay my bills and it makes preparing for taxes a cinch. I was disappointed that they have discontinued relationships with a few of the bigger companies that we work with (American Express & GMAC for starters), but it is still a great way to pay your bills and there are no monthly fees. If you don’t want to do your bills through a third-party, you can contact the companies you pay your bills to and sign up for their online bill-paying or have automatic withdrawals taken from your account.

2. Do your shopping through reward sites. These posts on MyPoints & Ebates should help you start gaining rewards for doing your shopping this year. Why shouldn’t you get a few freebies for things you are already buying? I just got another “Big Fat Check” from Ebates for $45.

3. Give your kids a bath. Oh wait! Am I supposed to be doing that regularly? Bath time does not need to be boring though with recipes for bathtub crayons & bathtub finger-paints. Check this post for thirteen tips to make your children’s bath time fun.

4. Update your spice rack with spices you actually DO use. Do you use Coriander regularly? I don’t! I do use a lot of grill seasoning mixes though. Updating your spice rack will save space in your cupboards and will make the spices you do use more accessible when cooking.

5. Program your cell phone with some handy numbers you might wish you had later on. Anyone ever use their phone as a light to try and hunt through the phone book for the electric company’s telephone number? Read this list for some contacts you should add to your address book.

6. Weed through some of your child’s artwork. Every mom knows that all of the pieces of artwork are special, but it is hard to highlight your favorites if you have piles of artwork stored. I shared a tip that we use for weeding through our son’s artwork that still works like a charm.

8. Bag up some dinners for your family. This weekend I am bagging up pizza mix, cornbread mix, cocoa mix, and pancake mix. This saves me so much time throughout the week and I only have to dirty up the kitchen once versus every night.

9. Hunt for all of those broken crayons, scattered all over the house, and put them together to make fun crayons using a muffin tin & your oven. These are a blast to make with your children and are much better than throwing those crayons away!

10. Rent a free movie from your library or use a free code from RedBox. I just got a newsletter from the site and they have new RedBox codes for free movies.

11. Order what you need from Sam’s Club and then make them hunt through the store for you. It is fun to browse through their site and no need to entertain children while you are trying to figure out the best price.

14. Update your calendar and use a free organizing software program. No more miscommunications between you & your hubby about your girl’s night out anymore. Using this software will allow your calendar to be right at his fingertips!

15. Hunt through your cupboards and find some plain white mugs and do a painting craft together with your children. This craft was a hit in our house and killed a few hours in a long day at home.

16. Craving some yummy restaurant food, but you don’t want to brave the cold weather? Try making some restaurant classics from home using these recipes I have provided. It might not taste just like the restaurant food, but it will be a hit in your house all the same!

19. Organize a gift closet to help you with all of those functions you will be going to this next year. This is the first entry in our series for stocking your closet.

20. Have you not made an effort with some relatives in awhile? Try penning a newsletter about your family and include some updated photos of your children. I loved this new free newsletter software for its ease and beauty.

Published February 18, 2007 by:

Amy Allen Clark is the founder of MomAdvice.com. You can read all about her here.